BMW 5 Series Is One Of The Safest Sedans On The Road

The new BMW 5 Series earned the coveted Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Mercedes-Benz and Volvo are renowned for making significant advancements in car safety, but BMW is now catching up with its luxury car rivals. The 5 Series luxury sedan is one of the most technically advanced cars BMW has ever built, featuring a smattering of semi-autonomous technology and advanced safety and assist systems, such as Frontal Collision Warning with City Collision Mitigation, helping it to earn the coveted Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

One of the most crucial IIHS crash tests is the front overlap crash test, which simulates an impact on the outer edge of the front-end which can be lethal as there isn’t much structure to reduce the impact. The BMW 5 Series scored a “Good” rating in both the moderate and small front overlap crash test praising the design of the body, roof, and structure, which is the highest rating possible. As shown in the video, the 40 mph impact looks violent as the Bimmer takes a battering, but measurements showed that the maximum intrusion of the footrest was only five inches, thus showing a very low risk of significant injury if a similar accident was to happen in real life.

That’s a significant improvement over the last 5 Series. In the same test, maximum intrusion reached 12 inches at the footrest and three inches for the steering column which would have likely caused chest pain and left foot injuries to the driver. The 2017 BMW 5 Series also earned the highest score of “Superior” in the crash prevention test.

At test speeds of 12 mph and 25 mph, the 5 Series was able to avoid collisions thanks to its autobrake technology. The only aspects that let the luxury sedan down were the child seat anchors ease of use which were rated as “Acceptable” and only the full-LED lights that come with a premium package received a “Good” rating. To achieve a Top Safety Pick+ award, a vehicle must earn “Good” ratings in all crash tests, an “Advanced” or “Superior” rating in front crash prevention, and headlights deemed “Acceptable” or “Good.” The 5 Series passed all five crash tests with ease, which sets a positive precedent for the new M5.